How to Hack the American Mailz

by The Last Postman

Most people reading this have used the postal mail service at least a couple of times throughout their lives, or are somewhat familiar with it.  But how many have tried hacking the mailz?  Of course, all of us know that not everything on the Internet is true and, in 2013, I heard on the interwebz that one could send mail for pennies, so I wanted to see if it was even true and learn how to do it.  It was then that I began my journey to become The Last Postman.

I learned that it was indeed true, as I disassembled the many pieces of the mailz, and I wanted to share my findings with my fellow hacker community.  I developed this hack, or exploit, in 2013-2014.  Remember that people were sending mail in 1863 using this same postage rate, that it's still totally legal and lawful, but that it has been hidden from everyone.  So now it's time to free that information!  I've sent mail like this from the east coast all the way to Hawai'i and I've received one piece of mail back using the same method.

Let's call this the 1863 postal rate, as this is the year it all began.  Looking at legislation from the 37th Congress (1863), specifically Session III, Chapter 71, we see that Section 22 tells us that we can send mail for three cents per each half ounce.  Interesting note that in 1863 you would pay your mail carrier upon mail delivery the three cents, but today we can buy one, two, and three cent stamps, as well as other amounts.  I love asking the postal clerk for 100 stamps and then letting them know I need 100 three cent stamps!  Remember to weigh your envelope and affix three cents per each half ounce (round up) as per the 1863 "law."  Also remember that the government created this rate to regulate an honest business owner named Lysander Spooner out of his mail business, as he was doing a much better job at it and government tends to like to "kill the competition."  I encourage you to learn more about him on your own as he is fascinating.

Next, let's explore how to address our mail to do this.  I call this a "simplified address," as it does not utilize any abbreviations, as such are believed to be copywritten by the United States Postal Service (USPS) company.  Here is an example:

John-Jacob of the Family Smith
c/o 2600 Sixth Pine Road
Apartment #7A
Boston, Massachusetts
ZIP Code Exempt as per United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual Section 602 1.3 e(2)

Above we see the mention of the USPS's "company manual," called the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), which is the document that lays out their company's policies and prices.  The USPS likes to move sections of their manual to hide certain information, as the Section 602 I cite above was previously Section 122.  As of Christmas 2020 though, the USPS deleted the specific subsection I cite above, but that does not make it any less valid.  It can still be used and this is only clear evidence that they are actively hiding this information from the people.  Search on archive.org for the May 2020 snapshot (or earlier) to see it before "deletion."

Since it was "deleted," but still completely valid, I will quote DMM 602 1.3 e(2) here:

"Unless required above, ZIP Codes may be omitted from single-piece price First-Class Mail (including Priority Mail), single-piece price Standard Post, and pieces bearing a simplified address."

We're using a "simplified address" and therefore do not require the use of a ZIP Code.  The important thing to note above is that we do not use a ZIP Code, but exploring the "ZIP Code significance" further would be a topic for another article, so I have provided this reference for our readers and encourage anyone to explore further.  You're also welcome to reach out to me to discuss offline as I want people to learn this.

Next, we explore that in 1970 there was a "law" passed, called the Postal Reorganization Act, by the U.S. Congress that changed the U.S. Post Office Department (which was then under part of the Cabinet) and created something new, called the United States Postal Service (USPS) which was (and still is today) "A corporation-like independent agency authorized by the U.S. government as an official service for the delivery of mail in the United States".  Under this 1970 act, the new USPS had to still honor the 1863 postal rate.  We see proof of this under Section 403(c), titled General Duties, which states the USPS may not "Make any undue or unreasonable discrimination among users of the mails, nor shall it grant any undue or unreasonable preferences to any such user."

I've been sending these types of letters for a while and I have found greater success with adding extra information to the front of the envelope.  Initially, I used to write the information on the envelope by hand, but now I print the laws on the front of the envelope to let all the employees know what is going on and have noticed that it has increased my success rate when sending these letters.  I have a LibreOffice mail template here for you to use and modify to your own liking.  Have fun with it!

Now I've been doing this for some time and I have quite the stack of returned mail, so don't get discouraged as these employees don't know this stuff (and won't), so here are some tips I like to share with people who want to explore this:

  1. Expect to receive letters sent back to you.  Most USPS employees never read the DMM, so don't expect them to know what you are doing.

  2. Don't use this mail method if you need a guarantee that the mail will reach its receiver.

  3. Don't try to convince your local postal clerk you are right as you will lose and he won't send your mail.  Instead, just drop the letters in one of the USPS blue boxes and continue on with your day.

  4. Let the person you're sending mail to know that sometimes the USPS tries to collect their "alleged postage due" from them, so tell them to kindly refuse.  They're welcome to inform their local mail person that it is a federal crime, but that might not be necessary (18 USC 1726 called "Postage Collected Unlawfully").  Again, let's all be kind and not rude as these people just do not know what we are doing here!

So to summarize, you can send mail for three cents by (1) using simplified addresses; (2) not using a ZIP Code; (3) optionally adding additional information; and (4) having a basic understanding of what is explained above in this article.

All of the documents in this article are at freeshell.de/~lstpstmn.

Also, if you want to talk mailz hackz, then reach out to me at thelastpostman@protonmail.com.

Shout outs to 2600 Magazine, all HOPE Conference family, ReK2, killab33z, real-changeling, the Hispagatos Collective, aestetix for his HOPE 2020 workshop which inspired this article, the 1215 crew, the Hackers.town crew, the Cyberia Computer Club, and all 2600 family across the world.  Have fun and hack all the systems, including the mailz!

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